Published: May 02, 2008 02:45 pm            

ERIE CANAL DISCOVERY: Railroads — Part 1

Vastly different, yet still very similar, the Erie Canal and the American railroads left their own marks on history. The Erie Canal traces its beginning to 1807 and the writings of Jesse Hawley, who wrote an early description of a canal which would join the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. The railroads can trace their roots to 1808, in England, when Richard Trevithick utilized a steam locomotive that ran on a circular track. Two distinct beginnings, and very similar endings. Both were hugely successful in their own era, and both were made obsolescent by the desire for increased speed in transportation. Both modes of travel were responsible for opening up our nation for settlement.

It was a close race for a while, and the canal took an early lead, but the race goes to the swiftest, and the canal yielded to the pressure of the railroads. The Erie Canal opened its full route in 1825, while the railroads were still experimenting with design and function. The first railroad in America, the “Baltimore and Ohio,” opened a 13-mile route in 1830. On August 9, 1831, the “Mohawk and Hudson” opened a short railroad line between Albany and Schenectady that would parallel a section of the Erie Canal. It took the name, “Dewitt Clinton,” for their locomotive. The railroad was hugely popular with passengers, but struggled to gain a foothold moving freight. The “Mohawk and Hudson” returned a $9,000 profit in its first four months of operation, exclusively as a passenger service. By 1842, a total of 6 separate railroad lines had joined together to provide service from Albany to Buffalo, along the course of the Erie Canal. Our own local entries were the “Attica and Buffalo” line, as well as the “Tonawanda Railroad.”

By 1851, within twenty-one years time, the network of railroads had been established from New York City to Buffalo. During that period of time, the trains had advanced from primitive to very powerful devices. They were able to pull large loads of freight and could carry passengers safely and quickly. The ten individual railroads between New York City and Buffalo were merged into one powerful rail line, the “New York Central,” in 1853. By 1860, there were 30,626 miles of railroads in America.

The railroads had an immediate effect on passenger travel on the Erie Canal. By the 1850’s, people preferred the comfort and speed of the railroads to the problems associated with packet boat travel on the canal. The railroads were more expensive, but not extremely. The rail fare from Buffalo to Albany in 1850 was $10. The corresponding fare by packet boat on the Erie Canal was $6.50 including meals for the five-day sojourn. There really was no longer any contest, the packet boat passenger had become a novelty. So much so, that the packet boats went out of business by 1860. (It’s a sad commentary that not one original Erie Canal packet boat remains in existence today!)

To be continued…

Doug Farley is director of the Erie Canal Discovery Center. Contact him at 434-7433. The Discovery Center is open for the season.

        

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